Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of the BRIT 2012 Challenge cover the County of Wiltshire and the Unitary Authorities of Swindon and Wiltshire.
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. The ancient county town was Wilton, but since 1930 Wiltshire County Council and its successor Wiltshire Council (from 2009) have been based at Trowbridge.
Wiltshire is characterised by its high downland and wide valleys. Salisbury Plain is famous as the location of the Stonehenge and Avebury stone circles and other ancient landmarks and as the main training area in the UK of the British Army. The city of Salisbury is notable for its medieval cathedral. Important country houses open to the public include Longleat, near Warminster, and the National Trust's Stourhead, near Mere.
I was hosted for Day 58 at Wiltshire College http://www.wiltshire.ac.uk/about_us/ and my visit was coordinated by Karly Holmes, the college’s Press and Communication Officer. I am delighted that BBC Radio Wiltshire http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/england/wiltshire/ is supporting me this week and before I started the walk I took part in a BBC Radio Wiltshire interview to talk about my BRIT 2012 Challenge and my visit to Wiltshire.
I then set off for Lackham Campus where I met Victoria Ashford from the Wiltshire Gazette and Herald http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/ who interviewed me before starting my 8 miles. The Regional and Local Media are giving me tremendous support and I’m delighted they are championing the BRIT 2012 Challenge.
At Lackham Campus I walked with students attending the Army Preparation Course and the Outdoor Adventure & Education Course. I also met students who are attending the “Progression Award/Vocational Skills - Land Based” Course. It was great to find out about the courses run at the college directly from the students and to listen to their journeys and what they aspire to achieve once they have completed their courses.
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| With students from Wiltshire College on the first half of the 8 mile walk |
We stopped off at the College’s own working farm (Lackham Farm http://www.lackhamfarm.co.uk/about/default.asp ) which is run by lecturers and the students. It is a remarkable facility and I was shown round the farm and learnt about the produce from the farm and also the range of courses run from Lackham College. At the end of the first four miles I met with Fire Fighters from Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service who were attending training at the College.
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| Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service |
I then travelled to the Chippenham Campus where I walked the final four miles with students on the Public Services Course.
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| With some of the students attending the Public Services Course at Wiltshire College |
It was a pleasure to meet such a diverse group of young people on a wide range of courses and our conversations during the day kept me going; we had a great time and shared a lot of laughter and enjoyment. I’m very grateful to Karly for involving so many courses and making the day such a happy one. I wish all the young people I met the very best of luck in their future aspirations.
I completed Day 58 with 1570 miles to go.
With kind regards,
Phil